Analyzing Character eBook

“I was one of the happiest souls on earth.
The sweeping of that room was my college examination,
and never did any youth pass an examination for entrance
into Harvard or Yale that gave him more genuine satisfaction.
I have passed several examinations since then, but
I have always felt that this was the best one I ever
passed.”

If Lincoln, Burritt, Booker T. Washington, and thousands
of others, with all their handicaps, could secure
needed education for their life work, why should any
man remain in an uncongenial calling? There is
danger that we may give our boys and girls too much
help; that life be made too easy for them; that their
moral backbones may grow flabby by reason of too much
support. Normal young people do not need aid and
support. They need guidance and direction—­and
the majority of them, either the sharp spur of necessity
or the relentless urge of an ambition which will not
be denied. Almost without exception we have found
that the only difference between genius or millionaire
and dunce or tramp is a willingness to pay the price.

THE PRICE OF SUCCESS

From an unknown author comes the all-important question
to every seeker for success:

“You want success. Are you willing to pay
the price for it?

“How much discouragement can you stand?

“How much bruising can you take?

“How long can you hang on in the face of obstacles?

“Have you the grit to try to do what others
have failed to do?

“Have you the nerve to attempt things that the
average man would never dream of tackling?

“Have you the persistence to keep on trying
after repeated failures?

“Can you cut out luxuries? Can you do without
things that others consider necessities?

“Can you go up against skepticism, ridicule,
friendly advice to quit, without flinching?

“Can you keep your mind steadily on the single
object you are pursuing, resisting all temptations
to divide your attention?

“Have you the patience to plan all the work
you attempt; the energy to wade through masses of
detail; the accuracy to overlook no point, however
small, in planning or executing?

“Are you strong on the finish as well as quick
at the start?

“Success is sold in the open market. You
can buy it—­I can buy it—­any man
can buy it who is willing to pay the price for it.”

CHAPTER III

CLASSES OF MISFITS

To the casual observer, humanity seems to be divided
into countless different kinds of people. In
fact, it is often said that of all the millions of
people on the earth, no two are just alike. Some
writers on vocational guidance, indeed, express discouragement.
They see humanity in such infinite variety that it
is impossible ever to classify types. Therefore,
they mourn, the vocational expert cannot judge of aptitudes
except by trial in various kinds of work until, finally,
real native talents appear in actual accomplishment.
The anthropologist, however, easily divides mankind
by means of several broad classifications, A few distinct
variations, easily recognizable by the anthropological
expert, put every one of the billion and one-half
people on the face of the earth in his particular
class.